Process of making sweetmeats.



Patented September 15, 1903.

PATE T OFFICE.

EDWARD SHA-W, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

PROCESS OF MAKING SWE ETMEATS. v

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 739,229, datedSeptember 15, 1903.

Application filed July 25,1902. Serial No. 117,024. (No specimens.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWARD SHAW, a sub-- j ect of the King of GreatBritain and Ireland,

residing at Broad street, in the city of Lonadded thereto, and otherconditions. in such,

wise as to prevent subsequent recrystallization or deliquescence of theproduct. Skill and experience are necessary on account of the varyingstrengths of the sugar. What are known as strong sugars in the trade arethose which require more killing to prevent subsequentrecrystallization. The boiling of large quantities of sugar for theabove purposes has been found diflicult unless glucose is used in placeof killing.

Now the object of this invention is to fa-.

cilitate the manufacture of sweetmeats, jams, and the like in largequantities from pure sugars, for which purpose a proportion of the sugarused in the manufacture of the sweetmeats is first dissolved in waterand the solution heated to boilingpoint and then has added and rapidlymixed with it a solution of acid, such as tartaric acid, in water, themix ture being kept boiling for, say, one or two minutes. The solutionis not used until the acid has nearly or quite caused the inversion ofthe sugar. In the preparation of the invert-sugar solution it is foundadvantageous to remove it immediately from the boilingpan and evaporateit, preferably in what is known as a Eureka machine and which forms thesubject of previous patents obtained byme, thereby concentrating andmore rapidly inverting the sugar. The tartaric acid may conveniently bein the proportion of three and a half ounces to about one hundred andtwelve pounds of sugar, the acid being dissolved in fifty ounces ofwater. The

remainder of the sugar is dissolved in Water and heated toboiling-point. The two solutions or syrups are amalgamated and themixture then boiled to the required temperature. The mixture may consistofabout four parts, by weight, of the plain-sugar solution to one of thesugar and tartaric-acid solution, the

said solutions being of equal strength. Such a mixture is suitable forproducing sweetmeats known as hard-boiled goods. l In some cases thepure-sugar solution is treated wit-h a quantity of alkali, such as drycarbonate of soda, (soda-ash.) For instance,

' there may be added to the plain-sugar solution an amount of drycarbonate of sodaequal to seventy-five. per cent. of the tartaric acidcontained in the solution that is to be mixed therewith. The proportionof plain -sugar solution to tartaric-acid solution and the use of thedry carbonate of soda may be regulated according to the nature of thesweetmeat or the like to be produced, the object being to neutralize thefree tartaric acid and prevent its causing further inversion of thesugar.

It is believed that the difficulty hitherto experienced in themanufacture of sweetmeats from pure sugar is due to the necessity ofnicely prop'ortioning the quantities of invert sugar and the uninvertedor crystallizable sugar in the resulting product according to thecharacteristics it is sought to obtain.

If there be an excessive proportion of invert sugar, which may be causedby allowing the sugar to be acted upon too long by water-and heat or bythe addition of too much killing-such as cream of tartar, tartaric orother acid-the product will deliquesce, while if the proportion ofuninverted or crystallizable sugar be excessive the product will grain.In the manufacture of sweetmeats genererally the aim of the operator isto balance, as it were, the deliquescing and crystallizing properties ofthe product by regulating the proportion of invert sugar,-(usually fromtwenty to thirty per cent. in hardboiled goods.) Now in my improvedprocess sugar is inverted by means of acid and added in suitableproportion to the crystaltically the same at the end as at the beginningof the boiling of the mixed solutions. This will be more nearly so whenthe alkali is used to neutralize the acid. Another advantage of the useof the neutralizing alkali is to free the finished goods of acid, whichif the sugar were attacked by moisture would continue its invertingfunction, so that goods originally having a correct percentage of invertsugarif containing acid will become deliquescent.

In some cases some other acid than tartaric may be used and some otheralkalies may be employed in place of dry carbonate of soda and theproportion used may be somewhat varied.

In conclusion I wish to point out that I have already tried theapplication of the al-,

kali to invert sugar direct; but Itind this objectionable, because thealkali has necessarily to be applied to the invert sugar underconditions where the acid is evenly distributed throughout the wholemass and the alkaliisconcentrated. Undersuchconditions the acid firstencountered'is neutralized; but for some reason, which I do not fullyunderstand, the sugar becomes considerably discolored, probably owing tothe splitting up of the levulose. Now in my process the invert sugarwith the acid in is mixed with the sugar solution which has the alkaliuniformly distributed throughout it. Hence as the mixture of invertsugar and cane-sugar takes place in no part of the mass is there anexcess of alkali or an excess of acid; but gradual neutralization of theacid takes place throughout the whole mass, with the result that a verymuch better color is obtained than would otherwise be the case. I havefound this from practical experience, and I have also found that themixture of invert sugars and cane-sugars boil with much greateruniformity and finally produce goods of better color and which complywith all requirements as regards crystallization or deliquescence.

What I claim is 1. The hereinbefore-described manufacture of sweetmeats,jam and the like with sugar wherein one part of the sugar is inverted bythe addition of an acid, the other part treated by an alkali and addedto the first-mentioned part in the required quantity, and the mixture ofsugars subsequently further boiled to thedesired degree, as set forth.

2. The hereinhefore-described manufacture of sweetmeats wherein one partof the sugar is inverted by the addition of tartaric acid in theproportion of about three and a half ounces of acid to one hundred andtwelve pounds of sugar, the other part rendered alkaline and afterwardadded to the thus-inverted sugar in the required quantity, and themixture of sugars subsequently further boiled to the desired degree, asset forth.

3. The hereinbefore-described manufacture of sweetmeats wherein one partof the sugar is inverted by the addition of tartaric acid in theproportion of about three and a half ounces of acid to one hundred andtwelve pounds of sugar, the other part treated by an amount of alkaliequal to' seventy-five per cent. of the acid and afterward added to thethus-inverted sugar in the required quantity, and the mixture of sugarssubsequently further boiled to the desired degree, as set forth.

4:. The hereinbefore-described manufacture of sweetmeats wherein onepart of the sugar is inverted by the addition of tartaric acid in theproportion of about three and a half ounces of acid to one hundred andtwelve pounds of sugar, the other part treated by an amount of alkaliequal to seventy-five per cent. of the acid and afterward added to thethus-inverted sugar in the required quantity, and the mixture of sugarssubsequently further boiled to the desired degree, the said mixtureconsisting of about four parts by weight of the plain-sugar solution toone part by Weight of the inverted sugar, as set forth.

Signed at 75-77 Oornhill, London, England, this 9th day of July, 190

EDWARD SHA W.

Witnesses:

PERCY E. MATTooKs, FRED. 0. SMITH.

